Sunday, April 15, 2012

Meika's Music for Thought #4

Hello, and welcome to the 4th installment of Meika's Music for Thought! Today we have a grand total of 6 PV's to get through, which is the most I've done for one of these posts. But I think it'll be lots of fun since there are two PVs from both LINQ and Himekyun Fruit Can as well as from PIH newcomers OSAKA Shou GANGS and Gungun Lagoon. I'll try to put aside my bias for Himekyun and review these PVs honestly, so I hope you enjoy reading!LinQ - Calorie Nante

So the PV starts off with a jumpy, hyper intro of a song and Natsu eating sweets... What an awesome way to begin! The intro of synths (I think that's the word O.O) and drum-like backup sounds makes me dance in my seat as I'm listening to the song. The intro grows in intensity gradually, leading up to more hyper instrumental music of synths and louder backup drums. In terms of the PV, you see her just keep eating and eating and eating! They didn't put "gluttonous idol" in the description box for nothing. XD Although it's just a scene of her doing the same activity, I think it was cute how they edited it to make it look interesting and appealing to the eye, with the sudden close-ups and fast-forward motions.Suddenly, the music fades out to a close up of Chiaki, another member of LinQ. I have NO idea what she's saying except that it's about Natsu... Again, I'm assuming, probably about her being the gluttonous person in the group. For me, at least, it's not very enjoyable to watch unless you can understand what she's saying, but at least the shot is well taken! ^.^bWhen the music kicks back in, the vocals do, too. From what I'm hearing, the voices are so adorable without being high-pitched, which I love because I'm not a big fan of high voices. The composition sounds awesome, as well! Somehow, it sounds "mysterious" to me, and when I say that, I mean it could be like a theme song to a cute detective anime. XD Then when it goes to the bridge, the vocals that hold the note while the line after that overlaps sound heavenly and gospel-like, actually. ^.^; But it adds a refreshing punch to the cute song. The instrumental transition to the chorus sounds both cool and princess-like, which is a wonderful lead-in. The chorus itself still ties in with the cute theme (I swear, I've said cute so many times in this review! >.One of the most adorable parts is the little "tink" and Natsu smiling at the camera with her index finger cuing with the sound. Such a pure clip! After that, Natsu comes back to an exhausted-looking Chiaki and feeds her what looks like mysterious mushroom biscuits! :O Immediately, she starts spazzing out and surprisingly ends with a smile and alive eyes! I thought this part was kind of crazy... But it was pretty awesome, too, if I do say so myself. XDAt the end of the PV, it fades to Natsu on the beach, making an "L" shape with her left hand, vowing. Again, no idea what she's saying, but it most likely has to do with her gluttonous attitude. And that brings an end to a crazy, exciting, hyper PV!

Overall, I give it a 8.1/10; I wish that the song was longer (Since I think there was only one verse, one bridge and one... ending part before the chorus) and I couldn't understand the speaking parts, but the PV and song were all kinds of excitement!LinQ - Tonkotsu Kotsu

White growing text over a black background is what starts this PV. It really gets you anticipating for what this PV could be about! Not just that, but the music is also quite odd and alien-like. This REALLY gets your brain stirring! All of a sudden, a white contrasting scene pops up with two girls awkwardly embracing, both with pig masks on... WHAT IS THIS!?!? This totally reminds me of something BiS would do, and I haven't even watched a full PV of theirs... I'm too scared to. ^.^; ANYWAYS, I know that something interesting is sure to come.A few seconds more into it, and both girls stand side by side, facing the camera. They take off their masks and smile, showing off their idol appeal to the camera when the upbeat music comes in. There, I give off a sigh of relief from the weird opening and the actual PV starts. The song is a repetition frenzy, as they constantly emphasize the title of the song through the lines "Tonkotsu kotsu, Tonkotsu kotsu". I'm not really a fan of food-themed songs unless it involves sweets, and this isn't really an exception. But it does sound pretty catchy! And unlike the speaking in the last LinQ PV, here, it pumps up the crowd and motivates them to cheer louder! I also love the Wota chants added in there!The PV is pretty simple, with one of the members doing the speaking parts with a pig puppet, the others holding up signs with the lyrics on them. Pretty boring... Well, it would've been if not for their charisma and personality to save the day! I've mentioned charisma being a big part in a PV's enjoyment before, and this is just one of those PVs! The members all have smiles on their faces, for the most part, they're so energetic, and that just brings so much life to the otherwise dull PV!

Overall, I give it a 7.1/10; I'm not a big fan of the song because of its theme and repetition, but it is catchy! And the PV has so much personality in it despite the simple shots, so that also bumped up the score!Poji Joshi Sengen - OSAKA Shou GANGS

When the song first kicks in, I was surprised that it sounded a little like something you'd hear if you were in Vegas. I can't really describe it. But it sounds like... Funky jazz? I really can't describe it very well. ^.^; Then after the initial intro, along with the instrumental, the girls go "FU~!", "FUWA FUWA!" etc. I was actually REALLY surprised to hear these come into play because it reminds me a lot of what H!P does with a lot of their songs.The vocals that I hear are great! Not the best, but I do love what I hear. I can tell that they're putting what they can into the song, that they're unified, and that they're trying to put emotion into their voices to really make the song shine. And in general, the voices are better than some mainstream idols and I find myself smiling at each solo line that comes. The song composition also sounds very "H!P-ish" to me. In fact, there might already be an H!P song that sounds like this. XD That aside, it sounds sexy, funky and mature in the verses and bridges, and upbeat, energetic and uplifting in the chorus. I think they blend well together in this case, making an awesome song overall.Going to the PV, there are a variety of shots. You can see them in kimonos, either looking at the sights, singing in close-ups, or dancing in both light and silhouettes. It's nice to see them when they're looking at the sights because they really show off their personalities with them just being goofy and outgoing. The close-ups are also a joy to watch since they also put idol appeal into them. Besides the kimonos, they're also in very cute street clothes, mostly spinning in a circle and looking off into the distance in slow motion. Yeah, this part was just a liiiiiiittle cheesy, but the clothes saved it for me~. XDWhen they're in their white outfits, this is when the magic of green screen and studios happen. The first scene in which these outfits make their debut is when the screen shatters and the members flutter down one by one like flower petals. Then, once they make it down safely, a blue whimsical light appears, flying over the girls and granting them the power to dance. I'm not a big fan of green screen unless done well... I can't really decide if this was one of those scenes or not. Maybe if they took out that confetti-like effect and changed that horrible background, maybe I'd definitely like it a lot. In addition to that, they also use these outfits to do close-ups of multiple girls squished into one shot and different-coloured rectangles as backdrops. I like the overall concept of what they were trying to go for since I see it as artsy, but again, the solid backgrounds are kind of hard to look at. The close-ups with simpler backgrounds but more transitions of video clips were alright, too. Lastly, the scenes where they play with cloth and feathers... That was a bit random, but hey, it looks like they're having fun, and I'm all for that! ^.^bNow on to the dance! I think they really did the choreography justice! I like how a lot of them put in a cute, bouncy and pure style to the dancing. (Except for that move in the verse XD) Again, can't really describe it, but it just makes them look like true idols! :D They are also really unified with their dancing for the most part and always have smiles pasted on their faces, making the dancing fun to watch, for me. The dance shots in the kimonos and in the light were okay with being fixed in the same spot, but with the white dance shots and the silhouettes, they needed that movement in the camera to make it look watchable. Plus, the shot where the white dance shot pops up on the ground over the silhouette dance shot was not good, to be blunt. It looked really weird and out of place. But I liked how the shot on the ground was taken! I wish that it was replaced for that one part.

Overall, I give it a 7.4/10; the PV had a few bad points to it, but the fun yet sexy song saved it for me!Lagoon no Theme ~ Ocean Park de Matteru ne! ~ - Gungun Lagoon

From what I hear in the beginning of the song, it sounds like an alien type of sound... Yeah, I'm sorry, I don't know what it is, but that's what it reminds me of! D: The music after that sounds really old school... Maybe the time period I'm thinking of is the 80's? The "la-la-lagoo~n"'s sound faded, adding to the whole style of the song. I'm not really into these kinds of songs 'cause they honestly depress me. Not because of something that happened to me or anything like that; just the style is not appealing to my ears. :P The vocals confuse me. I don't mean the pronunciation sounds weird... Although now that I think about it, maybe that could be a factor. But it's like their voices sound high-pitched yet there's a hint of a low voice or voices somewhere. I guess the composition is alright and sounds beachy and cute, but did there really have to be high notes in there? Gosh, those voices are already high-pitched! With their voices, the composition sounds like it has a hint of Chinese style in it. ^.^; I mean, I guess it sounds a little unique... I don't even know. >.< Well, altogether, it's an alright beach song with high vocals.The PV matches the theme of the song very well, as you can see them in sarongs and bikinis, having fun on the beach. I like how they truly look like they're having a great time and acting like (I assume are) themselves, smiling the whole way through. All that enjoyment and scenery sure makes me want to go to the beach and do the same things. The underwater/in water shots are quite interesting, too, as they provide a different perspective. But it kind of makes you go whack since the movement of the water is kind of trippy.The dance was very cute and simple! If they performed it, it's something that fans could easily follow along with. But with simple choreography, it's very easy to point out flaws with their execution of it. For example, I think two girls put in more effort than another, so it didn't look unified, and at times one or two would be faster or slower than the other(s). With that aside, though, I think they did a good job with the choreography and they didn't look bored with it. That one girl's dance solo was simpler than other dance solos I've seen, but she IS in a bikini and it still looked like a fun dance. Plus, she looked satisfied while doing it, and that can add a lot to a dance. The dance shots where they're in blue outfits and have white headbands are really, really trippy. I think it still would've looked cool if they didn't sway back and forth and if the lighting was still the same, probably cooler. But I really liked the outfits, a lot more than the bikinis and sarongs.

Overall, I give it a 6.5/10; the song isn't the best and the PV was fairly simple, but the fun they had added a lot to the whole thing.Koi no Binetsu - Himekyun Fruit Can

Nooooow get ready for the finale to end all finales!!! HIMEKYUN!!! Okay, like I said before, I'll try my best not to be biased... But let's see what happens here.Right when the music started, I immediately exclaimed, "OH MY GOSH", 'cause right before my ears is a really dark, sort of techno-piano like intro. Then a few seconds later, other techno sound effects overlap it. Wait a few more seconds, and it quiets down to a calmer, princess-like techno instrumental, followed by an intense overlap of a constant beat. Plus, that awesome electric guitar later into the song. Wow, this is a different Himekyun from before; very mature. But I really like it!The vocals are great and because two of the main vocalists graduated (:'( ), I can hear new voices since they didn't really get solo lines before. Such an exciting experience to listen to! I don't like how they're voices were autotuned at some points, but luckily, it wasn't overpowering. They also put a lot into the song, with their emotion and firmness. I can really get a longing type of feeling from their voices, like they're saying, "Help me! I'm in a fever of love!" (Koi no Binetsu = Love's Fever ;D) which really makes it sound mature. The composition is extremely cool during the majority of the song. But during the chorus, there are some weird parts that I hear in there. Like the high notes and some fast parts that don't fit very well with the music. Anyways, that's just a little part compared to the whole song. And with that intense, bold ending, I can conclude that this is a hell of a song! Two thumbs up! d^.^bMan, if you just look at the PV, you're suddenly thrown at with this big wind of awesomeness! Ahem, aside from that, I do really love the shots and scenery in here. From Mai in that frame with falling petals to just singing by the windows, it's all fantastic. The shot where they're all in the shot, posing and singing the song looks very cool with the dark lighting. And the sudden transitions of bright light add to the darkness of the whole thing. To add on, I was very delighted to see the frames being used later on into the PV because the shots were very well done, and the outfits were just gorgeous!With the dance, the choreography wasn't that complex, but the attitude, effort and unity they had made it look amazing, although I do admit that they were off at some parts. The "round" dancing was a nice touch, as well, like from 0:28-0:33. It captivated me into the moves and just looked enticing. During the chorus, I found it a bit strange how they mostly danced with just one hand, but they still did the dance justice. It was enjoyable to watch!

Overall, I HONESTLY give it an 8.5/10; It was an amazing song and PV, but there were still some cons to both.Koi ga Tomaranai - Himekyun Fruit Can

When the song first starts, it reminds me immediately of Koi no Binetsu's, since it's very fast-paced. But when it gets to the main instrumental, it reveals an upbeat, happy, cheerful rock that's led by what I think is electric guitar and keyboard. In addition, the electric guitar solo and handclapping is uplifting. The music isn't anything world-changing and it's not different from other idol music, but it's still super cute!The composition is as sweet as sugar! It's really catchy, fun, and is sure to please fans at lives! You can easily smile, jump and dance along to this song, in my opinion. I love how when they pause, the music pauses, and then when they come back on, the music blasts right along, like when they say "Ze..TTAI!". I was also surprised when the "Don't stop now!" rap (Though it wasn't even a rap, really, but yeah) come in with the louder guitar since it contrasted a little from the rest of the song. However, it still managed to blend in with the music and was a nice addition to the song. Oh, and of course, the vocals are really energetic and get you into the mood of the song.The PV itself wasn't special at all; just a standard close-up PV. But with the personality they put into it, it wasn't completely boring. Plus their outfits were adorable!

Overall, I give it a 6.9/10; the PV was just one shot throughout and the song wasn't that unique, but I still really loved the song a lot!There were both good and amazing PVs in this bunch that were mostly fun to watch! So please share your own thoughts below and thanks for reading!